You’ve worked hard for way too long to get your little one to use the potty. Finally, you celebrate with the family, you throw away the diapers, and you breathe a sigh of relief.

Shortly thereafter, you come to the dismaying realization that there’s a whole lot more to this business that your darling doesn’t yet know. Things like “don’t take all day” and “go before you get in your carseat” and “use the potty, not a tree”. Oh my, the potty-train-in-a-day books never mentioned all THIS!

Fortunately, Potty Animals: What To Know When You’ve Gotta Go! steps neatly into this gap. Each two-page spread features a preschoolish animal who has an unfortunate bad habit that needs to be corrected. “Close the door, Farley” ends one such spread. It’s little details like this that can drive a parent to nag, isn’t it? Never again, now you can let the book do the telling!

As for readability, this book is nicely done as well. The text rhymes well, and the subject matter is quite giggly to a small child. Plus, with a few read-throughs, you child will probably enjoy reminding the characters of the closing “rule” on each page. They do like to think they’re smarter than the other kids, don’t they? The illustrations are colorful and cartoonish, playing well with the humorous theme of the book.

I’d suggest this book is one that deserves a place on your bookshelf and regular readings for quite some time.